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How much do we depend on television? I guess the answer to that question is relative to whom you ask. Some people watch television on a daily basis, or even spend the entire day watching it. However, some of us (including myself) aren’t very avid television watchers. Sure, I have a couple of shows that I can’t miss… *cough* Pretty Little Liars *cough*… but who doesn’t? So this assignment for me was rather interesting for a couple of reasons. One: I rarely watch shows that I have never seen before, and if I do watch a show it is usually because a friend recommended it, and two: I have more productive things to do with my time. For this blog, I decided to do television shows from Netflix, just to get more variety. So this blog is for you, television, and all that you do to fry our brains.

First show out of the lineup: Bag of Bones! It is based on a Stephen King book of the same name. I love Stephen King novels, so that’s what initially drew me to the show. That and the fact that the commercial for the series was SO intriguing. It was sort of a dramatic thriller. However, it was a bit of a let down. The biggest setback for me are the long episodes, which are even split into different parts. A television show should only be so long, in my opinion. Representations of gender in this show were stereotypical. ——–The content was mildly graphic, with a lot of different “make you jump” moments. A beautiful woman would suddenly turn into a shriveled remnant of a being, a woman calmly crossing the street suddenly got hit by a bus. It was thrilling. It felt more like a movie than a television show, though, and it went on sort of slowly. It had Pierce Brosnan in it, which was a plus. I found it interesting that he played an author on the show, almost like it could be a representation of Stephen King’s life. The location of the episode I watched really puts the viewer in a state of panic, because it gives the feeling that it could actually happen to someone in real life, a small lake house. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed watching, however, it probably wasn’t great enough to watch the rest of the episodes.

Next: How I Met Your Mother. I thought that this should be included since I watch it every week. What to say about this show? It is a somewhat unrealistic representation of what sort of lives people in New York lead. I think it romanticizes the idea of living in a big city. The characters are very stereotypical of many television sitcoms that center around a close-knit group of friends. Comparative shows would include “Friends”, “Seinfeld”, and maybe even “I Love Lucy.” The show is extremely comedic, and makes for great quotes. Females are portrayed as highly sought out, and the men are portrayed as typical easy-going guys, nothing out of the ordinary. A lot of flirting goes on. Some hook up and break up, but they always make up at the end and become the best of friends again. I feel like this television show has a very wide audience range. It seems like the majority of the time if you ask someone, “Do you watch “How I Met Your Mother”?” the answer is usually a resounding, “YES! Did you see last week’s?” This makes for a longer run, which makes more money, which is, of course, what makes the industry go ’round.

And now we have…Lie To Me! One word: EPIC. This show was absolutely amazing. I watched the pilot episode. It was about a teenage boy who was accused of killing his teacher. The main character of the show, Lightman, can tell when people are lying through various scientific methods. The best way I could possibly describe him would be he is the guy you want to know, because he could teach you so many things that you’ve never given a second thought to in the past. This show took me through so many different emotions. In the beginning I was feeling accusatory toward the kid, but then at the end I actually cried. It’s rare that a television show that lasts only forty five minutes can make you feel so many different emotions. I think this show is wonderfully made. It doesn’t seem fake like a lot of television is now, and it’s also very educational, as far as teaching the viewer how to tell if someone is lying or not. Not that all of the methods are actually accurate, but Lightman does reference famous liars (“I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky”). I didn’t notice any real product placement either, which was very interesting to me. I am definitely going to watch the rest of the episodes. It hooked me.

I hope you enjoyed reading my blog as much as I enjoyed watching all the television to do this assignment! And thanks for making this assignment something actually interesting!